Celebrate Beenleigh pride this weekend
The heart of Beenleigh will be bustling with community spirit this weekend as crowds gather for the annual Beenleigh Cane Parade and Festival on Saturday, 11 May.
People are invited to line the streets as the parade winds its way through the middle of Beenleigh to finish at the Beenleigh Showgrounds where there will be a finale with a laser light display.
With the parade being sponsored by local businesses, the spectacle was put on pause for a few years due to some tough times the community was facing – from floods and fires to pandemics – but is back on track to enthuse the locals to take pride in their town and its rich history.
This year’s parade will take place on 11 May starting from George Street near McDonald’s at 2 pm. The Gala Ball will take place on 18 May at Kiwanda Café in the Distillery Road Precinct.
The festivities were brought back to life in 2021 and will go on thanks to the countless hours of volunteer work by members of Beenleigh Rotary Club and its 2024 president, Rachelle Mulraney, of Eagleby…who is a former Cane Queen herself.
‘I think the heritage of the Beenleigh Cane Parade and Festival is something really special for the heart of Beenleigh,’ she says.
‘Cane farming is the town’s heritage and how they really built the community and the rum distillery – there are so many things worth celebrating that’s got it to where we are today.
‘It’s good to understand your heritage, but to also celebrate everything the future holds, and our town really extends a lot further than that now because obviously we have got such a diverse and multicultural community.
‘It’s not just about our past, but also about our present and future – we’d love to see the community come together to celebrate the festival this year.’
June Collard, who won the Cane Queen title 60 years ago, will be attending the event.
‘The Rotary Club of Beenleigh put this on with free entry to try to make it as affordable as possible because we know the cost of living is increasing and it’s challenging getting sponsors, but the community is absolutely amazing and people supporting us is so great,’ Rachelle says.
‘Funding all relies on sponsorship from local businesses and thankfully we got Council support to bring the parade back again after COVID because it was something the community really needed.’
Rachelle’s passion for the town and the heritage event is rock solid, having been crowned Cane Queen and Charity Queen in 2010, and growing up in Beenleigh watching on as her father John Mulraney spent 30 years with the Rotary Club of Beenleigh – he is currently club secretary.
‘I do really love the community here. It has that real small-town vibe but where you feel that everyone wants to help everyone, and you especially see that in times of need,’ Rachelle says.
For more information on the events, visit the Beenleigh Rotary Club website.
